Mommy's Hero
by KDMOSP
Summary: "Uncle Hotch." The little girl cups both of your cheeks and looks you in the eyes before whispering. "Thank you for being my mommy's hero." Character death!


**AN: Hi guys! I am so, so busy lately with my job, I often do not have time to write. But when I do, I am just doing one shots for now. This is my new one. It has a major character death(s) in it, so be prepared! Please review!**

You stand, watching, hoping, hell even praying, that today, just this once, that God is on your side. You stand at the double doors because the staff refused to give you access to the trauma room, even despite your creds. They ignored you, in such a rush to save her life, they didn't bother to answer your plea.

They had refused to allow anyone else into the trauma room, not even security was allowed, for they needed as much space to work and as many people to help. There simply was not enough room- and you had to respect that.

So you stood outside and watched, watched as doctors and surgeons and nurses rushed in and out, and you pried your eyes away from the blood staining their scrubs, the floor, their shoes. It was everywhere. And you wonder how someone can lose that much blood and still be alive.

You know the staff is pumping blood into her, you have seen them run by with bags of the red, lifesaving, life sustaining miracle. You have seen staff push machines in, and machines out, you have seen them gently roll her body from side to side, presumably checking for more injuries.

The thought of them touching her while she is so vulnerable sends a shiver down your spine, and without a second thought, you step into the chaos. Alarms are blaring and multiple people are speaking, it's sensory overload and you briefly wonder how people can function in such an environment.

They are so busy, so distracted trying to save her life, that nobody sees you, or they do, and choose to ignore you. You still have your Kevlar vest on, identifying you as FBI- and you think that may be the reason they have turned a blind eye. They know not to mess with a pissed off FBI agent, the partner of an agent who has been critically wounded.

The agent who had suffered so much in the last few weeks. The beautiful blonde agent who had been so violently taken from you and your team during a sex trafficking bust that had gone horribly wrong.

For the three weeks she was missing, you had known. You had known who was responsible for her abduction, and you knew exactly what was being done to her. And it tore you apart piece by piece. Until you got the one tip that lead you straight to her.

She had been taken two miles away from you, two damn miles. Running distance for anyone on your team and it had taken almost twenty-two days to find her. And when you did, your emotions went on a roller coaster ride you never know a person could experience.

Elatement that you finally had her, you had her location and knew where she was. Relief that she was alive; and fear that you didn't know her condition. Anger at the men who had done this and despair when you found the property she was supposedly on, was massive.

It would take hours to search, and it did. From sun up to sun down, you, the team and law enforcement searched the vast property, coming up with very little.

Until you saw it, and something in you pulled you into a different direction than what the search party was heading. And as you got closer, you had started running towards it, your mind trying to process what was in front of you.

A small, run down barn, with the doors leaning dangerously off the hinges called to you. There was no lock on the barn doors, nothing to prevent anyone from coming in, or someone getting out- and you rushed inside.

Your nose had instantly been assaulted with the smell of blood, vomit, feces, urine, and you pulled your shirt over your nose to prevent yourself from vomiting. You cringed every time you took a step, a creaky floorboard alerting everyone that you were present.

You scoured the stalls, desperately hoping the next stall would be the one that held JJ. And when you were down, you searched again, hoping to have missed her. You hadn't, she was not here and your heart sunk.

And you fell to your knees, and cried. You cried out of exhaustion, fear, anxiety, and a mounting sense of hopelessness. You cried for JJ. And when you stood back up, and wiped your tears, you rocked back onto your heels and the beam below you slid over, revealing a hidden door.

And without a second thought, you jumped into the hole and followed the long corridor down and around. It quickly became a dizzying maze, and the purpose of the design was clear. To disorient any person locked in the underground cage.

You were sweating and the air was getting thick when your flashlight beam illuminated a small steel cage. It's barbed wire went from ground to ceiling with sharp shards sticking out at various points. And inside, inside that small, horrific cage, you saw a person lying on the floor.

You rushed as fast as you could and shook the cage door hard, calling her name the entire time. She never moved. You had to get her out, you had to get her to safety, you had to get her in your arms. With no other resources, you grabbed your gun and shot the lock off, rushing in.

It was her, it was JJ. And as soon as you had wrapped your arms around her, you knew she needed help. The paramedics would never be able to find you or her, it was quicker to carry her out.

"JJ." You had whispered to her as you bent down to lift her up. "JJ, it's Hotch, I have you, you are safe." You had told her, cringing as your hands brushed her skin. Her burning skin. She had a dangerously high fever, that you could tell.

And as you picked her up, she groaned in your arms, in obvious pain. You didn't know where, but you knew the slight movement had caused her pain. "I am so sorry, JJ." You told her as you had turned to leave the cage.

You had talked to her as you had carried her out, ignoring how painfully light she felt in your arms. How she was not wearing anything and you were to afraid to cover her with your jacket because of the heat radiating off of her.

She was shaking in your arms, from what you did not know. The fever? Was she cold? Scared? In pain? It had probably been a combination of all the things. But she was safe, and that was what you kept telling her.

You held her close as you raced out of the hell hole, it was only as you climbed back out and into the barn that you heard the distinctive 'click.' You knew without a shadow of a doubt that you wouldn't make it out of the barn in time, so you dove into one of the stalls and threw yourself protectively over JJ's body as the explosion hit.

The barn shook and disintegrated around you, the sound was deafening but all you were focused on was keeping JJ covered.

And somehow, you had made it out of the rubble without a scratch on you. The barn was gone, the stall you were in, was gone. But you hadn't received one scratch, and JJ was still there.

You had accompanied her to the emergency room, stayed by her side in the ambulance as Morgan raced in the SUV behind you.

And when you had arrived at the ER, Morgan had been stopped by the staff up front, you however, had not.

And now you stood in the trauma room, watching JJ fight to live. You heard the staff talking, her fever was 105.8, she was hardly breathing, X-Rays showed injuries from nails that had penetrated her body from the force of the bomb. A collapsed lung, broken ribs, internal bleeding. You weren't a doctor but you knew she was in bad shape.

And when the distinctive wail went off and you watched as a male nurse began pounding on JJ's chest, as the nurses injected medications into her multiple IV lines, you glanced up and outside into the hallway.

You stopped cold, because right then and there, you swore you saw JJ smiling at you from outside the trauma room. You took a second glance, and looked back down. No, JJ was still there..

You shook your head and stepped away, giving the staff access to JJ. When you glanced back out into the hallway she was gone. But you were torn, something was summoning you into that hallway, something telling you to leave the trauma room right now and go into the hallway.

You took one more glance at JJ, at the doctor's fighting hard to save her life before you briefly stepped out into the hallway. You looked right and left and could not see her and as you turned to step back in, you saw the staff slowing their pace, putting equipment away. And you heard a doctor call "Time of death.."

You started to rush in, to order them to continue when a hand stopped you.

"Hotch." The sweet voice, the sweet, kind voice that could only belong to one person. And you turn right into JJ.

"JJ?" You shake your head, and rub your eyes, your head trying to wrap itself around what was happening.

"It's okay, Hotch." She smiles at you. She looks beautiful, none of the bruises, and horrible burn marks you had seen earlier. She obviously senses your confusion and steps closer. "Thank you for what you did in the barn."

"JJ, I didn't do.."

"Hotch," You gave your life for me." And you hear it in her words, you hear what she is telling you.

"I don't.." you cannot form a decent sentence and you find yourself sliding to the ground, JJ with you.

Her smile grows as her voice becomes softer, the noises of the hospital have died away and you notice it's just you and her.

"Hotch, in that barn, that bomb that went off…" You see tears in her eyes. "Hotch, I was already gone, my body was there, but I had died days before." She nods to the trauma room. "That's not me Hotch," She grabs your hand and holds it in her own. "This is me." She pauses again. "Hotch, when that bomb went off, you had no chance. I had no chance, it was too powerful and you died instantly." She is very quick and blunt about it.

"JJ, I a so sorry.." You tell her.

"Why?"

"We couldn't save you."

She licks her lips and you can tell she is thinking of what to say. "Nobody could've Hotch. From the moment he grabbed me, my fate was sealed. Don't blame yourself for that." You look up at her and she seems strangely at peace.

"C'mon, I want you to meet someone." She reaches out and takes your hand and the light suddenly changes to a magnificent bright white. You follow her, walking behind her and the peace you feel is truly unbelievable.

"Mommy!" You look up to see a tiny girl rush into JJ's arms and leap into them. Her blonde hair and blue eyes sparkle as she looks at you. "Uncle Hotch!" You had never met the girl, but smile as she leaps into your arms. And it clicks, this little lady is the baby JJ lost.

"Uncle Hotch." The little girl cups both of your cheeks and looks you in the eyes before whispering. "Thank you for being my mommy's hero."

And you know that right now, there is nothing to fear in death.


End file.
